Playback of media streams at social gatherings

ABSTRACT

This disclosure concerns the providing of media, and more particularly to the streaming of media. In accordance with an example embodiment, a visual queue of media items (e.g. media items B and C) to be played next may be displayed at a user interface of the electronic device. Each one of the media items is associated with media content of a respective media content stream. While a media content stream is being played (e.g., a media content stream associated with media item A), a request to play another media content stream in accordance with a user preference may be received by the electronic device. This request may, for example, be a user selection of one of the available mood options. In response to receiving this request, the visual queue of the media items to be played next can be adjusted, and thus changed, in dependence of the selected mood option.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present disclosure generally relates to the providing of media, andmore particularly to the streaming of media. In particular, theembodiments described herein relate to methods and electronic devicesfor performing playback of a media content stream and dynamicallycontrolling a queue of subsequently playable media items, each of whichis associated with another media content stream.

BACKGROUND

As computer technology has improved, the digital media industry hasevolved greatly in recent years. Users are able to use electronicdevices such as mobile communication devices (e.g., cellular telephones,smart phones, tablet computers, etc.) to consume music, video and otherforms of media content. For instance, users can listen to audio content(e.g., music) and/or watch video content (e.g., movies, television (TV)broadcasts, etc.) on a variety of electronic devices.

At the same time, advances in network technology have increased thespeed and reliability with which information can be transmitted overcomputer networks. It is therefore possible for users to stream mediacontent over computer networks as needed, or on demand, rather thanreceiving a complete file in physical media (such as CD or DVD, ordownloading the entire file) before consuming the media content.

At social gatherings, users often wish to share media content withfriends, relatives, and new acquaintances. For example, a party host mayaccess media content on a portable electronic device, such as a mobilephone or a tablet computer, and present media content through a mediapresentation system (e.g., play music on one or several speakers orstream video on a screen).

SUMMARY

It is in view of the above considerations and others that the variousembodiments disclosed herein have been made.

It is a general object of the embodiments described herein to allow foran improved way of controlling playback of media, such as music, e.g. atsocial gatherings.

This general object has been addressed by the appended independentclaims. Advantageous embodiments are defined in the appended dependentclaims.

In a first of its aspects, this disclosure concerns a method ofoperating an electronic device for performing playback of a first mediacontent stream and dynamically controlling a queue of subsequentlyplayable media items, each of which is associated with another mediacontent stream.

A visual queue of subsequently playable media items is displayed at auser interface of the electronic device. Each media item is associatedwith media content of a respective media content stream.

A first request to play another media content stream in accordance witha first user preference is received while the first media content streamis being played. Also, in response to receiving the first request, thequeue of subsequently playable media items is adjusted, or otherwisechanged, in dependence of the first user preference.

In some embodiments, adjusting the queue of subsequently playable mediaitems in dependence of the first user preference may comprise sending adata message including an instruction to a computer server to return aproposed queue of subsequently playable media items in accordance withthe first user preference; receiving a signal comprising a data messageincluding the proposed queue of subsequently playable media items;generating a visual queue of subsequently playable media itemscorresponding to the proposed queue of subsequently playable mediaitems; and in response thereto displaying the visual queue ofsubsequently playable media items at the user interface of theelectronic device.

The aforementioned first user preference may advantageously be a mood.In an advantageous embodiment, a visual array of selectable mood optionscan be displayed at the user interface of the electronic device. Eachselectable mood option is associated with a respective mood. Forexample, receiving the first request to play another media contentstream in accordance with the first user preference may comprisereceiving an instruction to select one of the selectable mood options.

Additionally, a second request to play another media content stream inaccordance with a second user preference may be received. In response toreceiving the second request, the queue of subsequently playable mediaitems may be adjusted, or otherwise changed, in dependence of acombination of the first user preference and the second user preference.

In some embodiments, adjusting the queue of subsequently playable mediaitems in dependence of the second user preference may comprise sending adata message including an instruction to a computer server to return aproposed queue of subsequently playable media items in accordance with asecond user preference; receiving another signal comprising a datamessage including the proposed queue of subsequently playable mediaitems; generating a visual queue of subsequently playable media itemscorresponding to the proposed queue of subsequently playable mediaitems; and in response thereto displaying the visual queue ofsubsequently playable media items at the user interface of theelectronic device.

The aforementioned second user preference may comprise a genre, anartist, or a sound.

As will be appreciated, the aforementioned media content stream maycomprise an audio content stream, such as a song.

In a second of its aspects, this disclosure concerns an electronicdevice for performing playback of a first media content stream and fordynamically controlling a queue of subsequently playable media items,each of which is associated with another media content stream. Theelectronic device comprises a user interface; a processor; and a memory.The electronic device may also comprise a transmitter and a receiver, oralternatively a transceiver. The memory stores computer program code,which, when run in the processor causes the electronic device to displaya visual queue of subsequently playable media items at said userinterface, wherein each media item is associated with media content of arespective media content stream; and while the first media contentstream is being played; receive a first request to play another mediacontent stream in accordance with a first user preference; and inresponse to receiving the first request, adjust the queue ofsubsequently playable media items in dependence of the first userpreference.

In some embodiments, the memory may store computer program code, which,when run in the processor causes the electronic device to: send, bymeans of the transmitter, a data message including an instruction to acomputer server to return a proposed queue of subsequently playablemedia items in accordance with a first user preference; and receive, bymeans of the receiver, another signal comprising a data messageincluding the proposed queue of subsequently playable media items; andgenerate a visual queue of subsequently playable media itemscorresponding to the proposed queue of subsequently playable mediaitems; and in response thereto display the visual queue of subsequentlyplayable media items at the user interface of the electronic device.

The first user preference may advantageously comprise a mood. In oneembodiment, the memory may further store computer program code, which,when run in the processor causes the electronic device to: display avisual array of selectable mood options, wherein each selectable moodoption is associated with a respective mood; and receive an instructionto select one of the selectable mood options.

Still further, the memory may store computer program code, which, whenrun in the processor causes the electronic device to: receive a secondrequest to play another media content stream in accordance with a seconduser preference; and in response to receiving the second request, adjustthe queue of subsequently playable media items in dependence of acombination of the first user preference and the second user preference.

Yet further, the memory may store computer program code, which, when runin the processor causes the electronic device to: send, by means of thetransmitter, a data message including an instruction to a computerserver to return a proposed queue of subsequently playable media itemsin accordance with a second user preference; and receive, by means ofthe receiver, another signal comprising a data message including theproposed queue of subsequently playable media items; and generate avisual queue of subsequently playable media items corresponding to theproposed queue of subsequently playable media items; and in responsethereto display the visual queue of subsequently playable media items atthe user interface of the electronic device.

The second user preference may advantageously comprise a genre, anartist, or a sound.

As will be appreciated, the aforementioned media content stream maycomprise an audio content stream, such as a song.

In some embodiments, the electronic device is a stationary electronicdevice, such as a stationary computer. In alternative embodiments, aportable electronic device, such as a portable media presentationdevice, a mobile telephone, a cellular telephone, a tablet computer, alaptop computer, or a personal digital assistant.

In a third of its aspects, this disclosure concerns a computer program,comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor,cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according tothe earlier-described first aspect. A carrier comprising the computerprogram may also be provided. The carrier may for example be one of anelectronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computerreadable storage medium.

Various embodiments described herein allow a user of an electronicdevice to dynamically control a queue of subsequently playable mediaitems (e.g., songs) on the basis of a user preference. In someadvantageous embodiments, the user preference includes a mood. Thus, inone example scenario, a party host may dynamically control the songs tobe played next on the basis of the current mood of the people at theparty. This may improve the experience of social gatherings such asparties. According to some embodiments, it may also be possible toinfluence the mood of people at a social gathering. For example, if aparty host wishes to change the mood of the people at a socialgathering, he or she may in some embodiments select a mood option toadjust the queue of subsequently playable media items to correspond tothe desired mood.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects, features and advantages will be apparent andelucidated from the following description of various embodiments,reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an exemplary mediacontent delivery system in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example embodiment of a system for playback of amedia content stream and dynamic control of a queue of subsequentlyplayable media items, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIGS. 3A-3I schematically illustrates an example embodiment of a userinterface of an electronic device, e.g. in the form of a smart phone,which supports playback of a media content stream and, simultaneously,dynamic control of a visual queue of subsequently playable media items;

FIGS. 4A-4C schematically illustrates another example embodiment of auser interface of an electronic device, e.g. in the form of a smartphone, which supports playback of a media content stream and,simultaneously, dynamic control of a visual queue of subsequentlyplayable media items;

FIGS. 5A-5B schematically illustrates still another example embodimentof a user interface of an electronic device, e.g. in the form of a smartphone, which supports playback of a media content stream and,simultaneously, dynamic control of a visual queue of subsequentlyplayable media items;

FIGS. 6A-6C schematically illustrate flowcharts of a method inaccordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 7 illustrates a carrier containing a computer program, inaccordance with an embodiment; and

FIG. 8 illustrates an example implementation of an embodiment of anelectronic device as illustrated in any one of FIGS. 1-5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter. Theinvention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and shouldnot be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather,these embodiments are provided by way of example so that this disclosurewill be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of theinvention to those persons skilled in the art. Like reference numbersrefer to like elements or method steps throughout the description.

As described earlier, some existing solutions for playback of streamedmedia content may be inadequate. It is therefore a general object of theembodiments described herein to allow for an improved playback ofstreamed media content.

To address this, in accordance with an embodiment, described herein area method and an electronic device for performing playback of a firstmedia content stream and, at the same time, dynamically controlling aqueue of subsequently playable media items, each of which is associatedwith another media content stream. A visual queue of subsequentlyplayable media items is displayed at a user interface of the electronicdevice, each media item being associated with media content of arespective media content stream. Furthermore, while the first mediacontent stream is being played, the electronic device can receive afirst request to play another media content stream in accordance with afirst user preference such as a mood; and in response to receiving thefirst request, the queue of subsequently playable media items can beadjusted, and thus changed, in dependence of the first user preference(e.g., a mood).

This way, it is made possible to enable a user of an electronic deviceto dynamically control a queue of subsequently playable media items(e.g., songs) on the basis of a user preference such as a mood. Thus, inone example scenario, a party host may dynamically control the songs tobe played next on the basis of the current mood of the people at theparty. This may improve the experience of social gatherings such asparties.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary media contentdelivery system 100 in accordance with some embodiments. The mediacontent delivery 100 may comprise one or several electronic devices 200(e.g., electronic device 200-1 and electronic device 200-2), one or morecomputer servers 300 (e.g., media content servers also known as mediaservers), and one or more media presentation systems (e.g., mediapresentation systems 500 including speaker(s) 500-1, television (TV)500-2, Digital Versatile Disk (DVD) 500-3, and/or other mediapresentation system 500-n).

In some embodiments, the electronic device 200 may be a mobiletelephone, such as a smart phone. Alternatively, the electronic device200 may be a tablet computer. In yet other embodiments, the electronicdevice 200 may be any other electronic device capable of playback ofmedia content such as, for example, one of the electronic devices of thefollowing group: a personal computer, a laptop, and a mobile electronicdevice (e.g. a handheld entertainment device, a digital media player, orother media device).

One or several networks (e.g., network(s) 400) may communicativelyconnect each component of the media content delivery system 100 withother components of the media content delivery system 100. Thenetwork(s) 400 may include public communications networks, privatecommunication networks or a combination of both public and privatecommunication networks. For example, the networks(s) may include anynetwork(s) such as the Internet, other wide area networks (WAN), localarea networks (LAN), virtual private networks (VPN), metropolitan areanetworks (MAN), peer-to-peer networks, and/or ad-hoc networks.

In some embodiments, as is illustrated in FIG. 1, the electronic device200 (e.g., the electronic device 200-1) is capable of remotelycontrolling one or more of the media presentation systems 500. To thisend, the electronic device 200 may for example implement, or otherwiseutilize, any of the techniques described in the international patentapplication PCT/IB2013/001938 (published under WO 2014/001913 A2) or inU.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0006483 A1, each of whichare herein incorporated by reference. For example, it is possible for auser of the electronic device 200 (e.g., the electronic device 200-1 inthis example) to remotely control the presentation of media at any oneor a combination of the media presentation systems 500. Theinternational patent application PCT/IB2013/001938 and U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2014/0006483 A1 are incorporated herein byreference to give context to the embodiments described throughout thisdisclosure. More specifically, the electronic device 200-1 may receive amedia control command for a media presentation system 500 (e.g.speaker(s) 500-1). In response to receiving this media control command,the electronic device 200-1 may send a server media control request tothe computer server 300 and a local media control request to the mediapresentation system 500, which may located be within the same localnetwork, e.g. a LAN, as the electronic device 200-1 (i.e., a localnetwork to which both the electronic device 200-1 and the mediapresentation system 500 are connected). The server media control requestmay e.g. be sent to the computer server 300 over the Internet.Typically, but not necessarily, the computer server 300 is associatedwith an Internet Protocol (IP) address outside the space of the localnetwork to which both the electronic device 200-1 and the mediapresentation system 500 are connected. As will be appreciated, theelectronic device 200-1 and the media presentation system 500 may thusbe associated with IP addresses within the same sub network. Theelectronic device 200-1 may hence provide a user interface 230 (see e.g.FIG. 2) that allows a user 600 to select media content for presentationby the electronic device 200-1 itself and, also, to generate mediacontrol request(s) to cause the media content to be presented, orplayed, by the media presentation system 500. Furthermore, the servermedia request and the local media request are both configured to cause amedia control operation, performed at the electronic device 200-1, to beimplemented at the media presentation system 500.

In an example scenario related to a social gathering, a host (i.e., auser) may thus interact with his or her electronic device 200-1 toremotely control the playback of media content at the media presentationsystem 500, e.g. the playback of streamed music through loudspeakers(s)500-1. This way, it is for example possible for a party host (i.e., theuser) to control the playback of music that is to be played at thesocial gathering, e.g. a party.

Turning now to FIG. 2, an example environment where embodiments of thisdisclosure may be applied will be described. An electronic device 200,e.g. electronic device 200-1 of FIG. 1, may be communicativelyconnectable to the computer server 300 via the network 400, e.g. theInternet, as described hereinabove. As can be seen in FIG. 2, only asingle electronic device 200 and a single computer server 300 are shown.However, the computer server 300 may support the simultaneous use ofmultiple electronic devices, and/or the electronic device 200 cansimultaneously access media content at multiple computer servers 300.Although FIG. 2 illustrates the computer server 300 in accordance withone example embodiment, FIG. 2 is intended more as a functionaldescription of the various features, or components, which may be presentin one or more computer servers, rather than a structural schematic ofthe various implementations described throughout this disclosure. Inpractice, and as recognized by persons skilled in the art, componentsshown separately could be combined and some components could beseparated.

In the following description and in order not to obscure the detaileddescription with unnecessary detail, the media content will in generalbe exemplified to be audio content, e.g. in form of music. This should,however, not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the variousembodiments of the disclosed embodiments.

As is schematically shown in FIG. 2, the electronic device 200 may beused for the playback of media content (e.g., audio content such asmusic), which is provided by the computer server 300. The electronicdevice 200 may include one or several physical computer resources, orhardware resources 210. The hardware resources 210 may e.g. include oneor several processors (or, processing circuitry), a communicationsinterface (or, communication circuitry) and one or several memories.Likewise, the computer server 300 operating as a media server mayinclude one or several physical computer resources, or hardwareresources 316. The hardware resources 316 may likewise include e.g.include one or several processors (or, processing circuitry), acommunications interface (or, communication circuitry) and one orseveral memories.

The computer server 300 may include an operating system or otherprocessing system which supports execution of a software application310, including a media server application 312 which may be used, forexample, to stream media content. A media stream service 320 may be usedto buffer media content, for streaming to one or more media streams 322,324, 326. A media application interface 314 may receive requests fromelectronic devices 200 or other systems, to retrieve media content 331from the computer server 300.

Media content 331, or media items, may be provided, for example, withina first storage such as a memory (e.g., including a database), or may bereceived by the computer server 300 from another source (not shown).This another source (not shown) could be external to the computer server300, i.e. it may be located remotely from the computer server 300.

A media streaming logic 330 may be used to retrieve or otherwise accessthe media content 331 in response to requests from electronic devices200 or other systems, and populate the media stream service with streams322, 324, 326 of corresponding media content data 323, 325, 327 that maybe returned, i.e. streamed, to the requesting electronic device 200.

The electronic device 200 comprises a user interface 230, which isadapted to display or otherwise provide a visual array of media options232, for example as a two-dimensional grid, a list, or other visualarray format, and determine a user input. Each media option in thevisual array of media options 232 correspond to a respective mediastream 322, 324, 326.

Selecting a particular media option within the visual array 232 may beused, or otherwise interpreted, as a request or instruction to the mediaserver application 312 to stream or otherwise return a correspondingparticular media content item. For example, in accordance with someembodiments, the software application 310 at the computer server 300 maybe used to stream or otherwise communicate media content to theelectronic device 200, wherein the user interface 230 at the electronicdevice 200 is adapted to display a plurality of media options thatcorrespond to respective media streams.

In accordance with some embodiments, the electronic device 200 may alsoinclude a media playback application 220, together with a playback logic222, pre-buffering logic 145, and a volume function 146, which may beused to control the playback of media content that is received from themedia server application 312, for playback by the electronic device 200,as described in further detail below.

A user 600 may interact 11 with the user interface 230 and issuerequests, for example the playing of a selected media option at theelectronic device 200. The user's selection of a particular media optionmay be communicated 12 to the media server application 312, via themedia application interface 314. The media server application 312 maythen be instructed 13 to stream corresponding media content 13,including one or more streams of media content data 323, 325, 327, andsubsequently stream 14 or otherwise communicate the, e.g., selectedmedia, to the user's electronic device 200. In accordance with someembodiments, pre-buffering requests from the electronic device 200 mayalso be communicated 12 to the media server application 312 via themedia application interface 314. At the electronic device 200, inresponse to the user's interaction with the user interface 230, themedia playback application 220, including the playback logic 222, mayplay 10 the requested media content to the user 600.

FIGS. 3A-3I illustrate an electronic device 200 with an exemplary userinterface 230 which supports playback of a media content stream (e.g.,an audio content stream), in accordance with an embodiment. The userinterface 230 typically includes output device(s) and input device(s),as is known and conventional in the art. In some implementations, theinput devices may include a keyboard, a mouse or a track pad.Alternatively, or in addition, in some implementations, the userinterface 230 includes a display that includes a touch-sensitivesurface, in which case the display is a touch-sensitive display. Inelectronic devices 200 that have a touch-sensitive display, a softkeyboard may be displayed when keyboard entry is needed. A soft keyboardis a keyboard that replaces the physical keyboard on electronic devices200 having touch-sensitive displays. Hence, in electronic devices 200that have a touch-sensitive display a physical keyboard is optional. Theoutput devices may for example include one or more speakers and/or oneor more audio output connections for connecting to external speaker(s),headphones or earphones. Optionally, the input devices may furtherinclude an audio input device (e.g., a microphone) to capture audio(e.g., speech). Still further, the input devices may also optionallycomprise audio recognition device(s) to recognize audio (e.g., speech),which in combination with a microphone, may for example supplement orreplace the keyboard.

In an embodiment, such as in the example illustrated in FIG. 3A, theuser interface 230 includes a display that includes a touch-sensitivesurface. A first media content stream A (e.g., a song A) is beingplayed. For example, this first media stream A may be played atspeaker(s) 500-1 that is/are being remotely controlled by the electronicdevice 200, e.g. as described earlier hereinabove.

At the user interface 230 of the electronic device, a media item Aassociated with the media content stream A (e.g., media content stream322 of FIG. 2) that is currently being played may be presented at 701.For example, the media item A (701) may be displayed as an image tile orthe like. In some embodiments, the media item A (701) may include animage, e.g. a cover art. As is exemplified in FIG. 3A, furtherinformation about the currently played media content stream (e.g., atitle of the song, an artist, or the like) may be displayed, orotherwise presented, at the user interface 230.

As can be seen in FIG. 3A, a visual queue of subsequently playable mediaitems B (702) and C (703) can also be displayed or otherwise presented,at the user interface 230 of the electronic device 200. Each of thesubsequently playable media items B (702) and C (703) is associated withmedia content of a respective media content stream, e.g. media contentstreams 324 and 326 (see FIG. 2). In some embodiments, the media items B(702) and C (703) may also be displayed as image tiles or the like.Furthermore, the media items B (702) and C (703) may include arespective image, e.g. a cover art. As is exemplified in FIG. 3A,further information about the media items B (702) and C (703), such as atitle of the song and/or an artist, may also be provided at the userinterface 230.

In the example embodiment shown in FIG. 3A, a visual array 710 ofselectable mood options is also displayed, or otherwise presented, atthe user interface 230. In this example, the visual array 710 ofselectable mood options is exemplified by a list including a variety ofmood options. Each mood option in the array 710 of mood options isassociated with a respective mood, i.e. an emotional state. In thisexample embodiment, various moods are exemplified by the following moodoptions: “chill”, “feeling good”, “spring feeling”, “relax”, “dance”,and “sexy”. For instance, a press gesture or a tap gesture within adisplay area corresponding to one of the mood options (e.g., “feelinggood”) may be interpreted by the electronic device 200 to be a request,or instruction, to select the corresponding mood option. That is, uponthe user 600 performing a press gesture or a tap gesture over thedisplay area corresponding one of the mood options (e.g., “feelinggood”), this can be interpreted by the electronic device 200 torepresent a mood selection by the user 600.

Optionally, a visual array 720 of genre options may additionally bedisplayed, or otherwise presented, at the user interface 230. In thisexample, the visual array 720 of genre options is exemplified by a listof genre options (e.g., “pop”, “hits”, “RnB”). In alternativeembodiments, the visual array 720 may for example include artistoptions, or sound options.

Upon the user performing a swipe gesture, e.g. a left-to-right swipegesture, over the display area corresponding to the visual array 720 ofgenre options, it is possible for the user to view and select a genreoption from displayed genre options. For example, the above-mentionedleft-to-right swipe gesture may be interpreted by the electronic device200 to be a request, or instruction, to the user interface 230 todynamically present the available genre options by scrolling theavailable genre options from left to right. Likewise, a right-to leftswipe gesture may be interpreted by the electronic device 200 to be arequest, or instruction, to the user interface 230 to dynamicallypresent the available genre options by scrolling the available genreoptions from right to left.

Turning now to FIGS. 3B-3E, an example embodiment will be furtherexplained. While the first media content stream (i.e., song A in thisexample) is being played, the pre-buffering logic 145 of the playbacklogic 222 may start pre-buffering content related to the next mediacontent stream in the queue, i.e. the media content stream 324associated with media item B (702) in this example. In accordance withthis example embodiment, while the first media content stream (i.e.,song A in this example) is being played, e.g. through speakers(s) 500-1being remotely controlled by the electronic device 200, a first requestto play another media content streaming in accordance with a first userpreference is received by the electronic device 200. For example,receiving the first request to play another media content stream inaccordance with the first user preference may include receiving arequest, or instruction, to select one of the selectable mood optionsfrom the displayed visual array 710 of mood options. In other words,upon the user 600 performing a press gesture or a tap gesture 12 overthe display area corresponding one of the mood options (e.g., “feelinggood” in this example), this can be interpreted by the electronic device200 to represent a mood selection by the user 600. In response toreceiving this first request, the queue of subsequently playable mediaitems is adjusted, and thus changed, as can be seen in FIGS. 3C-3E.

In some embodiments, adjusting the queue of subsequently playable mediaitems in dependence of the first user preference comprises theelectronic device 200 sending a data message including an instruction toa computer server 300 (see FIG. 2) to return a proposed queue ofsubsequently playable media items in accordance with the first userpreference, i.e. in accordance with the selected mood option in thisexample. The electronic device 200 further receives a signal comprisinga data message including the proposed queue of subsequently playablemedia items. Furthermore, a visual queue of (new) subsequently playablemedia items D (704) and E (705) corresponding to the proposed queue ofsubsequently playable media items can be generated. In response thereto,the, the visual queue of subsequently playable media items D (704) and E(705) can be displayed, or otherwise presented, at the user interface230 of the electronic device 200.

The generation of the proposed queue of subsequently playable mediaitems is not the main focus of this disclosure. Rather, this disclosurefocuses on the dynamic control of media content to be played, orpresented, next, i.e. subsequent to a currently played media contentstream. There exist various techniques for generating suggestedplaylists on the basis of different factors, which are known in the art.As one mere example, the U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2014/0280181 A1 describes some techniques for generating playlists.

As can be seen in FIGS. 3C-3E, upon a user's selection 12 of one of themood options in the visual array 710 of mood options, the queue ofsubsequently playable media items is adjusted, and thus changed, independence of the selected mood option. In this example, it is possibleto allow for a “wipe effect” transition where one queue of media items(here represented by media items B (702) and C (703)) is wiped away toreveal another queue of media items (here represented by media items D(704) and C (705)). As can be seen in FIGS. 3B-3E, the media contentstream 322 associated with media item A (701) may still be playingduring the switch from the first queue of media items (here representedby media items B (702) and C (703)) to the second queue of media items(here represented by media items D (704) and E (705)). In other words,in some embodiments, the media content stream of the first media item inthe queue will not begin to play until the playback of the currentlyplayed media content stream is completed, or alternatively stopped. Forexample, a song associated with the media item A (701) may continue toplay as the media items B (702) and C (703) slide off the display of theuser interface (e.g. as shown in FIGS. 3C-3D) and while these mediaitems are replaced by the new media items D (704) and E (705).

Hereby it is made possible for a user 600 of an electronic device tocontrol the queue of subsequently playable media items (e.g., songs),e.g. during a remote control of the playback of the media at a mediapresentation system, in real time on the basis of a selected mood. Thus,in one example scenario, a party host (i.e., the user 600) may controlthe songs to be played next on the basis of the current mood of thepeople at a social gathering such as a party. This may improve theexperience of social gatherings. Furthermore, it may be possible toinfluence the mood of people at a social gathering. For example, if aparty host wishes to change the mood of the people at a socialgathering, he or she may select a mood option to adjust the queue ofsubsequently playable media items to correspond to the desired mood. Forexample, the party host may desire to get the people at the party into a“feeling good” mood at the beginning of the party. By selecting “feelinggood” from the visual array 710 of mood options the queue ofsubsequently playable media items can thus be changed to include mediaitems corresponding to the selected mood, i.e. media items correspondingto a “feeling good” mood in this example.

In some embodiments, as illustrated in FIGS. 3F-3I, the user mayoptionally also control the queue of subsequently playable media itemsin accordance with a second user preference, here exemplified by a genre(such as “pop”, “hits”, RnB”). Accordingly, while the first mediacontent stream (i.e., song A in this example) is being played, e.g.through the speakers(s) 500-1 that is/are remotely controlled by theelectronic device 200, a second request to play another media contentstreaming in accordance with a second user preference can be received bythe electronic device 200. For example, upon the user 600 performing aswipe gesture, e.g. a left-to-right swipe gesture, over the display areacorresponding to the visual array 720 of genre options, it is possiblefor the user to scroll through and view the available genre options ofthe visual array 720 of genre options. Furthermore, upon the user 600performing a press gesture or a tap gesture 12 over the display areacorresponding one of the available genre options (e.g., “rock” in theexample of FIG. 3H), this can be interpreted by the electronic device200 to represent a genre selection by the user 600. In response toreceiving this second request, the queue of subsequently playable mediaitems can be adjusted, and thus changed, which can be seen in FIG. 3Iwhere media options D (704) and E (705) have been changed (thus,replaced) to media options F (706) and G (707). In other words, inresponse to receiving this second request, the adjustment, and thuschange, of the queue of subsequently playable media items can be made independence of a combination of the first user preference (i.e., mood inthis example) and the second user preference (i.e., genre in thisexample).

In some embodiments, adjusting the queue of subsequently playable mediaitems in dependence of the second user preference comprises theelectronic device 200 sending a data message including an instruction toa computer server 300 to return a proposed queue of subsequentlyplayable media items in accordance with the second user preference, i.e.in dependence of the selected genre option. The electronic device 200further receives, from the computer server 300, a signal comprising adata message including the proposed queue of subsequently playable mediaitems. Furthermore, a visual queue of (new) subsequently playable mediaitems F (706) and G (707) corresponding to the proposed queue ofsubsequently playable media items can be generated. In response thereto,the, the visual queue of subsequently playable media items F (706) and G(707) can be displayed, or otherwise presented, at the user interface230 of the electronic device 200, see e.g. FIG. 3I.

Hereby it is made possible for a user 600 of an electronic device tocontrol the queue of subsequently playable media items (e.g., songs),e.g. by remotely controlling the playback of the media at a mediapresentation system, in real time on the basis of a selected mood aswell as a genre. Thus, in one example scenario, a party host (i.e., theuser 600) may control the songs to be played next on the basis of thecurrent mood of the people at the party as well as a desired musicgenre. This may improve the experience of social gatherings such asparties even further. Furthermore, it may be possible to influence themood of people at the social gathering.

While the visual array 720 of genre options in FIGS. 3A-3I list a fewexample genres, it should be appreciated that some embodiments may alsoinclude sub-genres. For example, the illustrated top genre “hits” mayinclude the sub-genres “70's”, “80's”, “90's”, etc. In some embodiments,upon a user's 600 selection of one of the available genres, a list ofavailable sub-genres for the selected genre can be displayed, orotherwise presented, at the user interface 230.

With reference to FIGS. 4A-4C, another embodiment will be brieflydescribed. In this example embodiment, the visual array 710 of moodoptions is represented by a soft keyboard including a circular controldevice. The circular control device includes different mood levels 711,712, 713. The different mood levels 711, 712 and 713 may representdifferent emotional states. In an example embodiment, mood level 711 mayrepresent a low energy level (e.g. “chill”), mood level 712 mayrepresent a medium energy level (e.g., “upbeat”) and mood level 713 mayrepresent a high energy level (e.g., “dancing”). As can be seen in FIG.4B, upon a user 600 performing a hovering gesture along the circularcontrol device 710, the user may select his or her mood option 711, 712or 713. In this example, the user 600 performs a hovering gesture from astart position of the circular control device to an end positioncorresponding to a position at the mood level 713. Upon the user 600completing his or her hovering gesture at the position of the mood level713, this can be interpreted by the electronic device 200 to represent auser selection of mood level 713. In response to receiving this request,the queue of subsequently playable media items is adjusted accordingly,as can be seen in FIG. 4C. In other words, the queue of subsequentlyplayable media items can be changed to include media options H (708) andI (709) corresponding to the selected mood level. The adjustment of thequeue can e.g. be performed in the same or a similar manner as describedhereinabove with respect to FIGS. 3C-3E where a first queue ofsubsequently playable media items slides off the display screen of theuser interface 230 and a new, second, queue of subsequently playablemedia items fades in and becomes displayed at the user interface 230.Optionally, an icon 714 representing the selected mood option (hereexemplified by mood level 713) may be displayed at the user interface230. Hereby, the user of the electronic device 200 can be informed aboutthe selected mood option in a convenient and user-friendly way.

Still another example embodiment will be briefly discussed withreference to FIGS. 5A-5B. In this example embodiment, the visual array710 of mood options is replaced by combination of a soft keyboard 715 tocontrol the recording of audio (e.g., speech or noise) at a socialgathering (e.g., a party), an audio input device (e.g., a microphone) tocapture audio, and audio recognition software to recognize audio. Uponthe user 600 performing a press gesture or a tap pressure at a displayarea corresponding to the illustrated “PLAY” button, this can beinterpreted by the electronic device 200 to be a request, orinstruction, to begin recording audio (i.e., audio surrounding theelectronic device 200) by means of the audio input device. Upon the user600 subsequently performing a press gesture or a tap pressure at adisplay area corresponding to a displayed “STOP” button (not shown),this can be interpreted by the electronic device 200 to be a request, orinstruction, to stop recording the audio. Utilizing the audiorecognition software it is then possible to recognize the recorded audioand, for example, classify the recorded audio into different moodlevels, e.g. low energy level (e.g., “chill”), medium energy level(e.g., “upbeat”) and high energy level (e.g., “dancing”). Onceclassified, this classified mood may be interpreted by the electronicdevice 200 to represent a user request, or instruction, to select theclassified mood level. In response to receiving this user request, thequeue of subsequently playable media items can be adjusted accordingly,as can be seen in FIG. 5B, such that the new queue of playable mediaitems H (708) and I (709) fit the classified, thus selected, mood level.In other words, the queue of subsequently playable media items ischanged to include media options H (708) and I (709) corresponding tothe selected mood level. The adjustment of the queue can e.g. beperformed in the same or a similar manner as described hereinabove withrespect to FIGS. 3C-3E where a first queue of subsequently playablemedia items slides off the display screen of the user interface 230 andthe new, second, queue of subsequently playable media items becomesdisplayed at the user interface 230.

The embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 5A-5B allows for a userto sense the mood at a social gathering (e.g., the party mood at aparty) and adapt the selection of the media to be played next independence of the sensed current mood at the social gathering. In otherwords, this embodiment may e.g. allow for playback of media (e.g.,music) at a social gathering that adaptively follows a current mood ofthe people at the social gathering.

While the embodiment described with respect to FIGS. 5A-5B proposesrecording audio and classify the mood level on the basis of the recordedaudio it should be appreciated that alternatively, or additionally, itmay be conceivable to record a video (e.g., from the social gathering)and classify the mood level on the basis of the thus recorded video.

With reference to FIGS. 6A-6C, a method 1000 of operating an electronicdevice 200 will be described. The method 1000 may be suitable forperforming playback of a first media content stream and for dynamicallycontrolling a queue of subsequently playable media items, each of whichis associated with another media content stream.

A visual queue of subsequently playable media items is displayed 1010 ata user interface of the electronic device. In other words, a visualqueue of media items that can be played next (i.e. after a currentlyplayed media content stream) is displayed 1010 at the user interface ofthe electronic device. Each media item is associated with media contentof a respective media content stream.

While a first media content stream is being played, e.g. throughspeaker(s) 500-1 that are being remotely controlled by the electronicdevice 200, a first request to play another media content stream inaccordance with a first user preference is received 1030.

In response to receiving this first request, the queue of subsequentlyplayable media items is adjusted 1060, or changed, in dependence of thefirst user preference. Accordingly, the queue of subsequently playablemedia items can be adjusted 1060 to fit the first user preference.

In advantageous embodiments, this first user preference is a mood (e.g.,an emotional state). For example, in some embodiments, a visual array ofselectable mood options is displayed 1020 at the user interface of theelectronic device. Each selectable mood option is associated with arespective mood. Receiving 1030 the first request to play another mediacontent stream in accordance with the first user preference may thuscomprise receiving a request, or instruction, to select one of theselectable mood options.

Turning to FIG. 6B, it should be appreciated that adjusting 1060 thequeue of subsequently playable media items in dependence of the firstuser preference may comprise sending 1061 a data message including aninstruction to a computer server 300 (see FIG. 2) to return a proposedqueue of subsequently playable media items in accordance with the firstuser preference; receiving 1062 a signal comprising a data messageincluding the proposed queue of subsequently playable media items;generating 1063 a visual queue of subsequently playable media itemscorresponding to the proposed queue of subsequently playable mediaitems; and in response thereto displaying 1064 the visual queue ofsubsequently playable media items at the user interface of theelectronic device.

In some particularly advantageous embodiments, the method 1000 mayoptionally also comprise receiving 1050 a second request to play anothermedia content stream in accordance with a second user preference. Inresponse to receiving 1050 the second request, the queue of subsequentlyplayable media items can thus be adjusted 1060 in dependence of acombination of the first user preference and the second user preference.

For example, this second user preference may be a genre. For example, insome embodiments, a visual array of selectable genre options isdisplayed 1040 at the user interface of the electronic device. Eachselectable genre option may be associated with a respective genre.Receiving 1050 the second request to play another media content streamin accordance with the second user preference may thus comprisereceiving a request, or instruction, to select one of the selectablegenre options. In alternative embodiments, the second user preferencemay e.g. include an artist, a sound, or the like.

Turning to FIG. 6C, it should be appreciated that adjusting 1060 thequeue of subsequently playable media items in dependence of the seconduser preference may comprise sending 1065 a data message including aninstruction to a computer server 300 (see FIG. 2) to return a proposedqueue of subsequently playable media items in accordance with a seconduser preference; receiving 1066 another signal comprising a data messageincluding the proposed queue of subsequently playable media items;generating 1067 a visual queue of subsequently playable media itemscorresponding to the proposed queue of subsequently playable mediaitems; and in response thereto displaying 1068 the visual queue ofsubsequently playable media items at a user interface of the electronicdevice.

In FIGS. 6A-6C, the method steps or actions are schematicallyillustrated in a certain order. It will be appreciated that the otherorders are equally possible. As one mere example, in embodiments wherethe queue of subsequently playable media items is adjusted based on acombination of the first and the second user preferences, theabove-mentioned second request may, e.g., be received 1050 prior toreceipt 1030 of the first request.

Turning now to FIG. 7, still another embodiment will be brieflydiscussed. FIG. 7 shows an example of a computer-readable medium, inthis example in the form of a data disc 1100. In one embodiment the datadisc 1100 is a magnetic data storage disc. The data disc 1100 isconfigured to carry instructions 1101 that can be loaded into a memory210B of an electronic device 200. Upon execution of said instructions bya processor 210A of the electronic device 200, the electronic device 200is caused to execute a method or procedure according to any one of theembodiments described in this disclosure. The data disc 1100 is arrangedto be connected to or within and read by a reading device (not shown),for loading the instructions into the processor. One such example of areading device in combination with one (or several) data disc(s) 1100 isa hard drive. It should be noted that the computer-readable medium canalso be other mediums such as compact discs, digital video discs, flashmemories or other memory technologies commonly used. In such anembodiment the data disc 1100 is one type of a tangiblecomputer-readable medium. The instructions may alternatively bedownloaded to a computer data reading device, such as an electronicdevice 200 capable of reading computer coded data on a computer-readablemedium, by comprising the instructions in a computer-readable signal(not shown) which is transmitted via a wireless (or wired) interface(for example via the Internet) to the computer data reading device forloading the instructions into a processor 210A of the electronic device200. In such an embodiment, the computer-readable signal is one type ofa non-tangible computer-readable medium.

With reference to FIG. 8, an example implementation of the electronicdevice 200 of FIGS. 1-5 will be described in some further detail. Forexample, the electronic device 200 may be implemented as a stationaryelectronic device, such as a stationary computer. Alternatively, theelectronic device 200 may be embodied as a portable electronic device,such as a mobile telephone, a cellular telephone, a tablet computer, alaptop computer, or a personal digital assistant.

In some embodiments, the electronic device 200 may comprise meansadapted to perform the method described herein with reference to FIGS.6A-6C. In one embodiment, the electronic device 200 thus comprises meansadapted to display a visual queue of subsequently playable media itemsat a user interface of the electronic device, wherein each media item isassociated with media content of a respective media content stream. Theelectronic device 200 further comprises means adapted to receive a firstrequest to play another media content stream in accordance with a firstuser preference while the first media content stream is currently beingplayed. Furthermore, the electronic device 200 comprises means adaptedto adjust the queue of subsequently playable media items in dependenceof the first user preference in response to receiving the first request.

For example, the electronic device 200 may also comprise means adaptedto send a data message including an instruction to a computer server toreturn a proposed queue of subsequently playable media items inaccordance with the first user preference. Also, the electronic device200 may comprise means adapted to receive a signal comprising a datamessage including the proposed queue of subsequently playable mediaitems. Moreover, the electronic device 200 may comprise means adapted togenerate a visual queue of subsequently playable media itemscorresponding to the proposed queue of subsequently playable mediaitems. Still further, the electronic device 200 may comprise meansadapted to display the generated visual queue of subsequently playablemedia items at the user interface of the electronic device.

As mentioned earlier, the first user preference comprises a mood. Forinstance, the electronic device 200 may optionally also comprise meansadapted to display a visual array of selectable mood options, whereineach selectable mood option is associated with a respective mood.

The electronic device 200 may also comprise means adapted to receive asecond request to play another media content stream in accordance with asecond user preference. Still further, the electronic device 200 maycomprise means adapted to adjust the queue of subsequently playablemedia items in dependence of a combination of the first user preferenceand the second user preference.

For instance, the electronic device 200 may further comprise meansadapted to send a data message including an instruction to a computerserver to return a proposed queue of subsequently playable media itemsin accordance with a second user preference; means adapted to receiveanother signal comprising a data message including the proposed queue ofsubsequently playable media items; means adapted to generate a visualqueue of subsequently playable media items corresponding to the proposedqueue of subsequently playable media items; and means adapted to displaythe visual queue of subsequently playable media items at a userinterface of the electronic device.

As mentioned earlier, the second user preference may comprise a genre,an artist, or a sound.

With continued reference to FIG. 8, an example implementation of theelectronic device 200 will now be described. The electronic device 200is configured to execute, or otherwise perform, any of the methodsdescribed herein. As is schematically illustrated in FIG. 8, theelectronic device 200 comprises hardware 210A-C. For example, theelectronic device 200 may comprise one or more processors 210A and oneor more memories 210B. Also, a communications interface 210C may beprovided in order to allow the electronic device 200 to communicate withother electronic devices and/or computer servers 300, e.g. via a network400 such as the Internet. To this end, the communications interface 210Cmay comprise a transmitter (Tx) and a receiver (Rx). Alternatively, thecommunications interface 210C may comprise a transceiver (Tx/Rx)combining both transmission and reception capabilities. Thecommunications interface 210C may include a radio frequency (RF)interface allowing the electronic device 200 to communicate with otherdevices and/or computer servers 300 through a radio frequency bandthrough the use of different radio frequency technologies such as LTE(Long Term Evolution), WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access),any other cellular network standardized by the 3rd GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP), or any other wireless technology such asWi-Fi, Bluetooth®, etcetera. Thus, the electronic device 200 may beconfigured to remotely control media presentation system(s) 500 asdescribed earlier hereinabove. The electronic device 200 may furthercomprise a user interface 230, which may be comprised of a display and akeypad. Advantageously, the user interface includes a touch-sensitivedisplay as described earlier in this disclosure. As such, thetouch-sensitive display may be a touch screen display upon which virtualkeys may be displayed and operated. Furthermore, the user interface 230may include output means such as loudspeakers (not shown) and/or one orseveral audio output connections as described earlier herein. Asdescribed with reference to FIG. 1, the electronic device 200 may alsocomprise one or more applications, e.g. the media playback application220. These applications may include sets of instructions (e.g., computerprogram code) that when executed by the one or more processors 210Acontrols the operation of the electronic device 200.

In some implementations, the one or more memories 210B stores computerprogram code, which, when run in the one or more processors 210A causesthe electronic device 200 to display a visual queue of subsequentlyplayable media items at said user interface 230, wherein each media itemis associated with media content of a respective media content stream;and while the first media content stream is being played; to receive afirst request to play another media content stream in accordance with afirst user preference; and, furthermore, in response to receiving thefirst request, to adjust the queue of subsequently playable media itemsin dependence of the first user preference.

In some implementations, the one or more memories 210B stores computerprogram code, which, when run in the one or more processors 210A causesthe electronic device to: send, by means of a transmitter 210C, a datamessage including an instruction to a computer server 300 to return aproposed queue of subsequently playable media items in accordance withthe first user preference; receive, by means of the receiver 201C,another signal comprising a data message including the proposed queue ofsubsequently playable media items; and generate a visual queue ofsubsequently playable media items corresponding to the proposed queue ofsubsequently playable media items; and in response thereto display thevisual queue of subsequently playable media items at the user interface230 of the electronic device 200.

Again, the first user preference may e.g. be a mood. For example, theone or more memories 210B may also store computer program code, which,when run in the one or more processors 210A causes the electronic device200 to display a visual array of selectable mood options at the userinterface 230, wherein each selectable mood option is associated with arespective mood; and receive an instruction to select one of theselectable mood options.

In some implementations, one or more memories 210B may also storecomputer program code, which, when run in the one or more processors210A causes the electronic device 200 to receive a second request toplay another media content stream in accordance with a second userpreference, and in response to receiving the second request, adjust thequeue of subsequently playable media items in dependence of acombination of the first user preference and the second user preference.

Furthermore, in some implementations, the one or more memories 210B mayalso store computer program code, which, when run in the one or moreprocessors 210A causes the electronic device 200 to: send, by means ofthe transmitter 210C, a data message including an instruction to acomputer server 300 to return a proposed queue of subsequently playablemedia items in accordance with a second user preference; receive, bymeans of the receiver 210C, another signal comprising a data messageincluding the proposed queue of subsequently playable media items; andgenerate a visual queue of subsequently playable media itemscorresponding to the proposed queue of subsequently playable mediaitems; and in response thereto display the visual queue of subsequentlyplayable media items at the user interface 230 of the electronic device200.

Various embodiments described herein enable improved playback ofstreamed media content, e.g. at social gatherings such as parties. Thedescribed embodiments allow for a user of an electronic device 200 todynamically control a queue of media items (e.g., songs) to be playednext on the basis of a user preference such as a mood. Thus, in oneexample scenario, a party host (i.e., the user) may dynamically controlthe songs to be played next on the basis of the current mood of thepeople at a social gathering such as a party. This may improve theexperience of the people at social gatherings. According to someembodiments, it may also be possible to influence the mood of people ata social gathering. For example, if a party host wishes to influence themood of the people at a social gathering, he or she may in someembodiments select a mood option to adjust the queue of subsequentlyplayable media items to correspond to the desired mood.

In the detailed description hereinabove, for purposes of explanation andnot limitation, specific details are set forth in order to provide athorough understanding of various embodiments described in thisdisclosure. In some instances, detailed descriptions of well-knowndevices, components, circuits, and methods have been omitted so as notto obscure the description of the embodiments disclosed herein withunnecessary detail. All statements herein reciting principles, aspects,and embodiments disclosed herein, as well as specific examples thereof,are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalentsthereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include bothcurrently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in thefuture, i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function,regardless of structure. Thus, for example, it will be appreciated thatblock diagrams herein can represent conceptual views of illustrativecircuitry or other functional units embodying the principles of thedescribed embodiments. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flowcharts and the like represent various processes which may besubstantially represented in computer readable medium and so executed bya computer or processor, whether or not such computer or processor isexplicitly shown. The functions of the various elements includingfunctional blocks, may be provided through the use of hardware such ascircuit hardware and/or hardware capable of executing software in theform of coded instructions stored on the above-mentioned computerreadable medium. Thus, such functions and illustrated functional blocksare to be understood as being hardware-implemented and/orcomputer-implemented, and thus machine-implemented. In terms of hardwareimplementation, the functional blocks may include or encompass, withoutlimitation, digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, reduced instructionset processor, hardware (e.g., digital or analog) circuitry includingbut not limited to application specific integrated circuit(s) [ASIC],and/or field programmable gate array(s) (FPGA(s)), and (whereappropriate) state machines capable of performing such functions. Interms of computer implementation, a computer is generally understood tocomprise one or more processors or one or more controllers. Whenprovided by a computer or processor or controller, the functions may beprovided by a single dedicated computer or processor or controller, by asingle shared computer or processor or controller, or by a plurality ofindividual computers or processors or controllers, some of which may beshared or distributed. Moreover, use of the term “processor” or“controller” may also be construed to refer to other hardware capable ofperforming such functions and/or executing software, such as the examplehardware recited above.

In some embodiments, the present invention includes a computer programproduct which is a non-transitory storage medium or computer readablemedium (media) having instructions stored thereon/in which can be usedto program a computer to perform any of the processes of the presentinvention. Examples of the storage medium can include, but is notlimited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical discs, DVD,CD-ROMs, microdrive, and magneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs,EEPROMs, DRAMs, VRAMs, flash memory devices, magnetic or optical cards,nanosystems (including molecular memory ICs), or any type of media ordevice suitable for storing instructions and/or data.

Modifications and other variants of the described embodiments will cometo mind to one skilled in the art having benefit of the teachingspresented in the foregoing description and associated drawings.Therefore, it is to be understood that the embodiments are not limitedto the specific example embodiments described in this disclosure andthat modifications and other variants are intended to be included withinthe scope of this disclosure. For example, while certain gestures (e.g.,hovering gestures, press gestures, and tap gestures) have been describedto exemplify some embodiments, other conceivable gestures also exist(e.g. flick gestures, swipe gestures, swipe-and-hold gestures,release-of-hold gestures) that could be contemplated when reducingembodiments described herein into practice.

Furthermore, it should be appreciated that embodiments described in thisdisclosure could be advantageously combined with any one of theembodiments described in the co-filed U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/714,148, filed on May 15, 2015, entitled “METHODS AND DEVICES FORADJUSTMENT OF THE ENERGY LEVEL OF A PLAYED AUDIO STREAM”, inventorsSouheil Medaghri Alaoui, et al, and/or in the co-filed U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/714,153, filed on May 15, 2015, entitled“METHODS AND ELECTRONIC DEVICES FOR DYNAMIC CONTROL OF PLAYLISTS”,inventors Souheil Medaghri Alaoui, et al, both of which patentapplications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Still further, although specific terms may be employed herein, they areused in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation. Therefore, a person skilled in the art would recognizenumerous variations to the described embodiments that would still fallwithin the scope of the appended claims. As used herein, the terms“comprise/comprises” or “include/includes” do not exclude the presenceof other elements or steps. Furthermore, although individual featuresmay be included in different claims, these may possibly advantageouslybe combined, and the inclusion of different claims does not imply that acombination of features is not feasible and/or advantageous. Inaddition, singular references do not exclude a plurality.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of operating an electronic device forperforming playback of a first media content stream and dynamicallycontrolling a queue of subsequently playable media items, comprising:displaying, at a user interface of the electronic device, a plurality ofselectable options corresponding to one or more properties of mediaitems to be played, wherein, in response to a selection of one or moreoptions within the plurality of selectable options as selected options,a proposed queue of subsequently playable media items is dynamicallyadjusted in real time in accordance with the selected options;displaying a visual queue of subsequently playable media itemscorresponding to the proposed queue of subsequently playable mediaitems, at the user interface of the electronic device, wherein eachmedia item is associated with media content of a respective mediacontent stream; and while the first media content stream is beingplayed, receiving, at the user interface of the electronic device, oneor more user inputs indicative of selecting a first option and a secondoption within the plurality of selectable options, interpretingselection of the first option and the second option as a combination ofthe selected options and as a request to control playback of anothermedia content stream in accordance with the first option and the secondoption, and while the first media content stream is continuing to beingplayed, adjusting, in real time, the proposed queue of subsequentlyplayable media items in dependence of the first option and the secondoption, including providing, at the user interface, an adjusted proposedqueue of subsequently playable media items corresponding to the firstoption and the second option, wherein the adjusted proposed queue ofsubsequently playable media items includes replacement media items, inaccordance with the selected options.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinadjusting the proposed queue of subsequently playable media items independence of the first option, comprises: sending a data messageincluding an instruction to a computer server to return a proposed queueof subsequently playable media items in accordance with the firstoption; receiving a signal comprising a data message including theproposed queue of subsequently playable media items; generating a visualqueue of subsequently playable media items corresponding to the proposedqueue of subsequently playable media items; and in response theretodisplaying the visual queue of subsequently playable media items at theuser interface of the electronic device.
 3. The method of claim 1,comprising: displaying a visual array of selectable mood options,wherein each selectable mood option is associated with a respectivemood; and wherein receiving a first request to play another mediacontent stream in accordance with the first option comprises receivingan instruction to select one of the selectable mood options.
 4. Themethod of claim 3, further comprising: receiving a second request toplay another media content stream in accordance with the second option;in response to receiving the second request, adjusting the proposedqueue of subsequently playable media items in dependence of acombination of the first option and the second option.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, wherein adjusting the proposed queue of subsequently playablemedia items in dependence of the second option, comprises: sending adata message including an instruction to a computer server to return aproposed queue of subsequently playable media items in accordance withthe second option; receiving another signal comprising a data messageincluding the proposed queue of subsequently playable media items;generating a visual queue of subsequently playable media itemscorresponding to the proposed queue of subsequently playable mediaitems; and in response thereto displaying the visual queue ofsubsequently playable media items at the user interface of theelectronic device.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the second optioncomprises a genre, an artist, or a sound.
 7. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving a second request to play another mediacontent stream in accordance with the second option; in response toreceiving the second request, adjusting the proposed queue ofsubsequently playable media items in dependence of a combination of thefirst option and the second option.
 8. The method of claim 7, whereinadjusting the proposed queue of subsequently playable media items independence of the second option, comprises: sending a data messageincluding an instruction to a computer server to return a proposed queueof subsequently playable media items in accordance with the secondoption; receiving another signal comprising a data message including theproposed queue of subsequently playable media items; generating a visualqueue of subsequently playable media items corresponding to the proposedqueue of subsequently playable media items; and in response theretodisplaying the visual queue of subsequently playable media items at theuser interface of the electronic device.
 9. The method of claim 7,wherein the second option comprises a genre, an artist, or a sound. 10.The method of claim 1, wherein the media content stream comprises anaudio content stream.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or moreproperties of media items to be played comprises one or more of a mood,a genre, an artist, a sound, or an energy level.
 12. The method of claim1, further comprising, while the first media content stream is beingplayed, pre-buffering media content related to a next media contentstream in the adjusted proposed queue of subsequently playable mediaitems.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is usedto remotely control the playback of media content at a mediapresentation system, wherein, while the first media content stream isbeing played, a request to play another media content streaming inaccordance with a first user preference is received by the electronicdevice, and wherein in response to receiving the request, the queue ofsubsequently playable media items is adjusted, for playback at the mediapresentation system under remote control of the electronic device. 14.An electronic device for performing playback of a first media contentstream and dynamically controlling a queue of subsequently playablemedia items, the electronic device comprising: a user interface; aprocessor; and a memory storing computer program code, which, when runin the processor causes the electronic device to: display, at the userinterface, a plurality of selectable options corresponding to one ormore properties of media items to be played, wherein, in response to aselection of one or more options within the plurality of selectableoptions as selected options, a proposed queue of subsequently playablemedia items is dynamically adjusted in real time in accordance with theselected options; display a visual queue of subsequently playable mediaitems corresponding to the proposed queue of subsequently playable mediaitems, at said user interface, wherein each media item is associatedwith media content of a respective media content stream; and while thefirst media content stream is being played, receive, at the userinterface, one or more user inputs indicative of selecting a firstoption and a second option within the plurality of selectable options,interpret selection of the first option and the second option as acombination of the selected options and as a request to control playbackof another media content stream in accordance with the first option andthe second option, and while the first media content stream iscontinuing to being played, adjust, in real time, the proposed queue ofsubsequently playable media items in dependence of the first option andthe second option, including providing, at the user interface, anadjusted proposed queue of subsequently playable media itemscorresponding to the first option and the second option, wherein theadjusted proposed queue of subsequently playable media items includesreplacement media items, in accordance with the selected options. 15.The electronic device of claim 14, further comprising: a transmitter,and a receiver, and wherein the memory stores computer program code,which, when run in the processor causes the electronic device to: send,by means of the transmitter, a data message including an instruction toa computer server to return a proposed queue of subsequently playablemedia items in accordance with a first option; and receive, by means ofthe receiver, another signal comprising a data message including theproposed queue of subsequently playable media items; generate a visualqueue of subsequently playable media items corresponding to the proposedqueue of subsequently playable media items; and in response theretodisplay the visual queue of subsequently playable media items at a userinterface of the electronic device.
 16. The electronic device of claim14, wherein the memory stores computer program code, which, when run inthe processor causes the electronic device to: display a visual array ofselectable mood options, wherein each selectable mood option isassociated with a respective mood; and receive an instruction to selectone of the selectable mood options.
 17. The electronic device of claim16, wherein the memory stores computer program code, which, when run inthe processor causes the electronic device to: receive a second requestto play another media content stream in accordance with the secondoption, in response to receiving the second request, adjust the proposedqueue of subsequently playable media items in dependence of acombination of the first option and the second option.
 18. Theelectronic device of claim 17, further comprising: a transmitter, and areceiver, and wherein the memory stores computer program code, which,when run in the processor causes the electronic device to: send, bymeans of the transmitter, a data message including an instruction to acomputer server to return a proposed queue of subsequently playablemedia items in accordance with the second option; receive, by means ofthe receiver, another signal comprising a data message including theproposed queue of subsequently playable media items; generate a visualqueue of subsequently playable media items corresponding to the proposedqueue of subsequently playable media items; and in response theretodisplay the visual queue of subsequently playable media items at theuser interface of the electronic device.
 19. The electronic device ofclaim 17, wherein the second option comprises a genre, an artist, or asound.
 20. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the memory storescomputer program code, which, when run in the processor causes theelectronic device to: receive a second request to play another mediacontent stream in accordance with the second option, in response toreceiving the second request, adjust the proposed queue of subsequentlyplayable media items in dependence of a combination of the first optionand the second option.
 21. The electronic device of claim 20, furthercomprising: a transmitter, and a receiver, and wherein the memory storescomputer program code, which, when run in the processor causes theelectronic device to: send, by means of the transmitter, a data messageincluding an instruction to a computer server to return a proposed queueof subsequently playable media items in accordance with the secondoption; receive, by means of the receiver, another signal comprising adata message including the proposed queue of subsequently playable mediaitems; generate a visual queue of subsequently playable media itemscorresponding to the proposed queue of subsequently playable mediaitems; and in response thereto display the visual queue of subsequentlyplayable media items at a user interface of the electronic device. 22.The electronic device of claim 20, wherein the second option comprises agenre, an artist, or a sound.
 23. The electronic device of claim 14,wherein the media content stream comprises an audio content stream. 24.A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or moreinstructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause theat least one processor to carry out a method comprising: displaying, ata user interface of the electronic device, a plurality of selectableoptions corresponding to one or more properties of media items to beplayed, wherein, in response to a selection of one or more optionswithin the plurality of selectable options as selected options, aproposed queue of subsequently playable media items is dynamicallyadjusted in real time in accordance with the selected options;displaying a visual queue of subsequently playable media itemscorresponding to the proposed queue of subsequently playable mediaitems, at the user interface of the electronic device, wherein eachmedia item is associated with media content of a respective mediacontent stream; and while the first media content stream is beingplayed, receiving, at the user interface of the electronic device, oneor more user inputs indicative of selecting a first option and a secondoption within the plurality of selectable options, interpretingselection of the first option and the second option as a combination ofthe selected options and as a request to control playback of anothermedia content stream in accordance with the first option and the secondoption, and while the first media content stream is continuing to beingplayed, adjusting, in real time, the proposed queue of subsequentlyplayable media items in dependence of the first option and the secondoption, including providing, at the user interface, an adjusted proposedqueue of subsequently playable media items corresponding to the firstoption and the second option, wherein the adjusted proposed queue ofsubsequently playable media items includes replacement media items, inaccordance with the selected options.